Ghost King Meets Batman

Crash the Party

[Edited July 23, 2022]

After Nico landed in the living room, he had to rush upstairs to get ready for the gala. There were guests already arriving and he was supposed to be helping his brothers greet the guests at the door. It looked good to the partygoers who would be donating tonight. The entire evening was designed to entice the guests into signing checks to help families who were looking to adopt afford the process. It was a foundation that Bruce had started after he had adopted Jason-- a subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises.

It was important to Bruce that this night went well, the foundation was in the red, and it was costing Bruce money to keep it open. These donations would make a dent in what was coming out of Bruce's personal accounts-- the accounts he used to fund his vigilante work. The tax benefits he got from his own charitable donations helped, of course, but every little bit helped. Bruce had once explained that he was trying to teach other Gothamites how to help themselves by setting an example. This attitude had gotten him a philanthropist's reputation among the people of Gotham. He'd been on news stations all over the country for the work he was doing in Gotham.

Because of how important this gala is, several members of the Justice League were in attendance tonight. Nico wasn't sure who Bruce had invited, but he was sure that Diana would be there. He was interested to see if he could spot them out of costume. Of course, the demigod could cheat and soul search them, but that would ruin the fun. Galas were such dull affairs if you were young, and even more so if you were a hyperactive demigod who didn't understand most of what people were talking about. Nico knew nothing about current events, politics, or technology so his brothers would usually give him a crash course on major events so that he could keep up the conversation. Nico would rather play tug-of-war with Cerberus.

Nico was grateful that he had already laid out his outfit for the night. He scooped it off the bed and changed quickly. He washed his face and brushed his teeth before he hurried back downstairs to join his brothers in greeting the guests. Jason wasn't with them, of course. He was spending the night at one of his safehouses in the city, out of sight of prying eyes. Nico looked each guest over with a critical eye. Many of the people had been at the last gala but there were several new faces as well. The new people eyed him with vague interest before continuing with the festivities.

Bruce left the boys to greet guests as he gave the welcome speech. Not too long after, Alfred shooed them into the ballroom to mingle while he stayed at the door. For the first hour, it was their job to talk to the donors and get them interested in the foundation. It certainly helped that we were all technically adopted and could speak as to how important the work that the foundation does really is. Nico would never have imagined that he would be able to keep up a conversation with people like these.

A few months ago, he would have made a fool of himself. During the time he had been staying with the Waynes, however, Bruce had taught him the ways of talking with the elites. He was now able to fake an aura of belonging and polite indifference just like the people who had been rich all their lives. It was easier to deal with these people when you weren't trying to be yourself. It was almost like being an actor on a stage. It didn't matter if you believed the performance, as long as the audience did.

The gala was a drag and Nico found himself wanting to escape. Just because he knew how to talk to these people, didn't mean that he enjoyed it. In fact, he hated it. They were shallow, their tongues were barbed, and you had to constantly watch everything you did. Bruce had once equated them to barracudas, and Nico could see the resemblance with the toothy smiles and ruthlessness. People just weren't his thing, especially not these people. He was just grateful that there weren't any reporters there this time. They were on the lawn, but Alfred wasn't letting them in the house.